Author: Healthy Living

It’s really frustrating and even more so since it appears to have started to significantly and quickly decline once I began taking the other prescriptions for pain, anxiety, and depression (which makes no sense to me since I’m not depressed). So, I’m on Gabapentin for the pain and the constant tingling, Alprazolam for anxiety (I have a bit of agoraphobia), and Sertraline for depression.

Now, my (current) neurologist, I’m getting another opinion in November, wants an answer when I see him in a couple of weeks as to which medication I have chosen. He gave me three choices of oral medication, Aubagio, Gilenya, and Tecfidera. I read up on each of these. In fact, I spent HOURS reading, researching, and looking up testimonials and reviews from unbiased sites. But even just the “don’t take this if you have…” section tells me they won’t work.

Dr. H (not giving his full name for anonymity) has been pressing me to take the Tecfidera for a couple of years now. This particular drug prescription costs $70,000 USD a year!!!! How can I possibly justify taking a drug that costs more than most people make in a year and four times the amount I was making at the job I lost. This leads me to have to look up the injectable options, which probably won’t cost any less. This is also frustrating because I have continued to ask him for more natural remedies due to the affects of the side effects of the prescriptions.

My reason for looking for another option for a neurologist is based on my not having faith in the type of care Dr H has been giving me, or in how he keeps my records. I recently received a copy of my record for a lawyer to look into regarding appealing a decision bout receiving some benefits as I currently only have my child support and Herbalife, and it was incomplete with regard to complaints when I saw him along with medication lists. I also began to wonder some time ago why he hadn’t even suggested physical or occupational therapy once he saw I was getting worse.

In addition, when delivering the forms needed by the attorney to Dr H’s office, while it was mentioned they were needed within two weeks, it instead took 1-1/2 months for him to properly and completely fill the paperwork out, which was as a result of many phone calls and visits to try to get it all prioritized.I’m thankful the application for my handicap placard was finally completed and sent in to the RMV last week.

Anyhow, the past few months have been very trying with regard to my health. Some days I wake up with my youngest to see him off to school and am okay for the remainder of the day and can then sleep a full night. Then there’s other nights. Those nights I can’t get to sleep until the sun has come up. Then, once everyone has left for the day, my body will finally fall asleep, but only for a few hours. Then there are also those same nights where I don’t get to sleep at all until mid afternoon, sleep for a few hours, wake up again for an hour or so, and then finally sleep until I awake at a normal time.

I don’t know if the sleeping issues are as a result of Dr H upping the dose on my gabapentin from 900mg/day to now 1800mg/day, and yet I’m still in pain as well. I have been extraordinarily consistent with my workouts again…because let’s face it, I went up to Vermont with good intentions of continuing with my workouts, but instead did a single hike the entire time I was up there. Then, of course, because I had gotten out of my routine, I had become lazy and just stopped.

So morning workouts resumed a few weeks back, and with the exception of the nights I didn’t sleep, I would make up for it that next evening, which would sometimes put me at two workouts a night, knowing if I didn’t, I would get off the routine, get lost from the habit, and get back to not feeling well.

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This week’s content is very minimal. It’s just a matter of reading the foreword and the author’s note.

The Big Idea: An Introduction to Be Mature

I will through in my main draw and a couple of the author’s quotes that spoke to me. Remember, each person can pull something different from the same thing, so it would be beneficial to read for yourself.

I love how Ken Baugh was so descriptive when he was comparing God and His work on us to that of a construction worker. It really makes God so He’s more reachable to us, and allows us to be more understanding in how the different events in our lives, how we respond to them, all are part of our process to becoming that who He has in mind for us when we were created.

“The spiritually maturing person takes responsibility to read and follow these commands themselves…you need to take responsibility for your own spiritual growth.” p.12

“Drink deeply, my friend, of the truths of God’s Word, for in them you will find Jesus Christ, and there is freedom, peace, assurance, and joy.” p.13

Ken Baugh is the Pastor of Coast Hills Community Church over in Aliso Viejo, California

A Word From The Author

Pastor Wiersbe was exceptionally brief in his word, but it doesn’t make it any less powerful. He speaks of the need for Christians to grow up. He states this reason is why the Epistle of James is so important for each of us on our walks. To help us not only grow in our spiritual maturity, but to grow in the understanding as well.

Next week, Week 2, we will discuss Chapter 1: Time to Grow Up (James 1:1)

Until then, Be Blessed!

~ J

❤ ❤ ❤

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I live with my family in a 1932 Colonial in a quite town (it’s a city, but a smaller one) in Western Massachusetts, USA. I have always loved older and historic homes because of the character and beauty contained within and on the exterior of the walls. It has been my goal to bring residences to their natural and era beauty, while keeping modern convenieces.

This page of the blog will be devoted to any decorating I do and the reusing/recycling of materials from around the house or I no longer have need for with its intended purpose. It is also about living simpler and being content with living minimally and below our means.

I hope you find beauty in what I do here. There will be some posts where I will have before, during, and completed pictures, and some will have updated after pics, depending on how the feel of the room strikes me.

I also hope to be able to offer ideas and suggestions to others with ways in which they can help to minimize and declutter their living spaces, and in turn, their lives.

Until then, be blessed!

~ J

❤ ❤ ❤

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I have had issues with my size my entire life. I have always been the shortest in my family, but since birth, I had always been my mom’s largest natural delivery baby with a sizeable weight of 8lbs6oz. Since the early 80’s and some pretty traumatic life experiences, I turned to food for solace and comfort. I had become a compulsive eater, and in turn caused many health issues for myself.

When I was done with the binging part of my life, had gotten into junior high school and high school, I felt even more insecure about who I was. I didn’t love myself, and took it out on my body. I just wanted to shed the pounds, get into a smaller size for my very petite frame, and just be happy…because I thought my happiness depended upon my physical appearance rather than my internal health and emotional well being.

It has been a long road. I have tried so many different weight loss programs, techniques, magic pills; I was even put on prescription weight loss medication and given a good meal plan to follow. At that last point, I was a heavy duty gym rat, going 6-7 days a week and committing 3-4 hours at a time there each day. Yet, I saw no results.

Because I had underlying health issues as a result of how poorly I treated my body. Once I had a better understanding of my health issues and how to combat them, I did my research. I then began taking #Herbalife products and immediately noticed a difference. I wasn’t able to go to the gym anymore, so I was doing workouts from home and about 2 miles of walking every day or so.

Inches and pounds were falling off. My energy was through the roof. My family noticed I was a happier person to be around. I was beginning to love myself again. And most importantly, thanked God for putting me down that path.

My goal of this page of my blog will be to encourage others in their fitness and health & well being journey. I strongly recommend having an accountability partner. If you don’t have one, allow me to be it! 😀 I will also be going over my fitness goals and exercises for at home and low-impact routines.

I have now been taking and distributing Herbalife since Leap Year Day, February 29, 2012. If you’re interested in the customizable programs available, you can comment here, or take a look at my site http://www.GoHerbalife.com/Healthgal and I can point you in the right direction.

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Be Mature: Growing Up In Christ by Warren W. Wiersbe is the first book I’ve chosen to begin my review / blog book club because it truly is a wonderful book.

I believe it is necessary to always encourage one another and help one another to increase our spiritual maturity. This book is based off the teachings of James and how we are able to apply them to our everyday lives.

This book has a foreward written by Ken Baugh, a word from the author, followed by 13 chapters. The average chapter is between 11-15 pages in length, but go over in detail solid key points which should be pulled from the chapter and allow understanding in how to apply them in daily modern living. Because of this, I have decided to do one chapter per week, allowing this review to be broken down over 15 weeks. This is including both the introduction and auto-biography to begin with and closing out with final thoughts and what was grasped most from the book.

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I have been attending New Day Church, currently being held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA, since 2011. I love this community. There’s a bit of everyone there and it’s a casual atmosphere, which is awesome because I have tattoo’s and didn’t have a large wardrobe with “Sunday Best”. There motto is “Serious Worship, Casual Dress” and they have multiple services on Sunday’s, which is always awesome for those early risers and not so early risers.

In the past couple of years, they have even put the best of the 3 services for that week online, along with the sermon notes, in both video and podcast format. We have an app which has so many different options in addition to watching or listening to the sermons on your smart phone. http://www.NewDayChurch.cc/sermons is where you can get started at watching or listening to our weekly sermons.

This page will go over my thoughts on the sermon, how to apply the teaching’s to my daily life and walk with my Lord, any parting thoughts, and I will also give the direct link to that week’s sermon.

I do welcome you to take a look at my church’s website, or if you’re in Western Mass or NW Connecticut, please accept our open invitation to join one of our services each Sunday. And if you have children, we have age appropriate classrooms from newborns up to tweens. We also have small groups which just began sign-up’s this past Sunday. Check us out on our website or find us on Facebook!

Until then, be blessed!

~ J

❤ ❤ ❤

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To begin, let me let you know about my home church, New Day Church. We are currently a portable church renting facilities at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame located in Springfield, Mass. We have a lead Pastor, Mike Sorcinelli, an Associate Pastor, Andrew Charko, as well as other people who are devoting their lives to Christ within the church. We have a live worship team, production team (which I lovingly refer to as the AV club of the church), ministry team, and family and children ministry whose director is Tracey Jarvis. The family and children ministry allows for infants up to tweens the opportunity to take in God’s word in practical and age-appropriate classrooms.

Now, on to this week’s series…

The topic of this particular series is based on the top questions received by my church’s pastoral staff earlier in the spring. Each week in the series goes over one of the most popular questions received.

This week (September 4, 2016) we went over “How to Move from Doubt to Faith”. This is a fantastic question and one many either are too afraid to ask, or just think it’s not possible. My friends, Let me tell you, little is further from the truth!

This particular sermon was wonderful because every so often, even as a seasoned Christian, I can sometimes feel doubtful about situations. Even just having that small lack of faith leaves enough of an opening for Satan to get into our heads and allows him the permission to begin feeding on our feelings of insecurity. In the past, each time I have let my guard down, even just a little, I can just hear him telling me all kinds of lies, the type of lies only he could understand exactly which of my faults or feelings of insecurity he could use against me to make me feel useless and then have such a feeling a hopelessness.

But I don’t have to believe his lies. In fact, I don’t even have to allow them. It is imperative for to become more solid in our understanding of the scriptures of God’s truth, and then, each time satan tries to convince how we’re anything less than God’s children, whom He loves fully and unconditionally, we can throw God’s Truth and Promises back at the devil to let him know exactly how much we don’t believe him. That as long as we’re familiar with His Truth found within His word, we can replace any unbiblical expectations and deeds behind us.

Fix our eyes on Jesus and personally investigate all that is found within the Bible and what we’re told that goes against it. By doing this, it allows ground for us to stand on. By further researching, gaining godly and Biblical counsel, and having quiet prayer time with Him daily, it allows us to grow stronger in our faith. And when we’re doing all of this, it is much easier, over time, to look at ourselves through His eyes. We will learn how we are all created in His image, and therefore are nothing but positives.

I have been working on putting this into my practical daily life by beginning my morning by feasting on the Lord’s truth followed by other devotions, prayer with thanks giving, and reminding myself throughout the day how sneaky satan is. Sneaky and slithery just as the snake he was in the Garden of Eden. When times become hard, I reach out to Him for strength. I write down my prayers, and then when they’re answered, whether in the way I would have liked or not, I go back to that prayer, write down how it was answered, and the date it was answered. Sometimes it isn’t wholly answered at once, but in steps, and that’s okay, too.

We all need to start somewhere, and steps, whether small or large, will help us to get where we want to go. For everlasting life, it is imperative, regardless of the size of steps we take, to have our blinders on and keep on the path to Him. The steps could start as small as reading your Bible for even 10 minutes a day. If you want more, and to be able to read the Bible in a year, it is often suggested to read 4 chapters in a day. Personally I have a 365 day Bible reading plan that I use on my phone’s YouVersion Bible App.

I would like to personally invite you to church. Our services are held on Sunday’s, as I said above, at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The service times are 9, 10:30, and 12 noon. There is ample parking and we have plenty of seating. Our first two service times are held both in the theater downstairs (across from the box office), and upstairs in the loft, tweens Spark program is held across the hall in the conference room during second service. We have children services for all 3 times, but tween services are only during the 10:30am service time.

To watch or listen to this week’s sermon, and to print off the notes which come for each sermon, you can get them here.

To take a look at the Bible app I use, which can be downloaded as an app on your phone or tablet, or can be viewed right on the website. They also have an app for the kids!

Thank you for reading and watching/listening. I hope you gained as much from the service as I have. Also, please note, I did not go into my full notes from the sermon, because I would like each of you to gather your own thoughts. ❤